Sunday felt like a breakfasty day (like most Sundays in our home do). I really wanted to whip up some sweet scones, but every recipe I could find called for a stick of butter and at least ¼ cup of sugar (some even called for ½ cup of sugar).

No thanks.

After pouting at the iPad screen for a few minutes, I decided to try to make my own scones. After a little research (via Pinterest, of course), I felt like I was ready to start preparing a recipe.

I picked out a couple of recipes that looked tasty (Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Scones and Chocolate Chip Scones) and got to work combining my favorite parts of each and taking away the things I didn’t like so much. (I actually considered replacing the peanut butter from the Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Scones with Nutella but was worried it would be too chocolatey.)

I was pretty concerned about the health factor (seeing as how I just finished talking about staying heart-healthy). I decided to make these as health-conscious as possible.

Some of the main things I wanted to make sure this recipe included were 1) minimal butter 2) no added sugar, 3) super-dark chocolate, 4) whole wheat flour and 5) oats. I know that’s kind of a long list, but I wanted to make sure my scones were as close to healthy as a sweet scone can be. (If I had ground flax-seed, I would have included it, too, for additional fiber.)

Though I was able to omit any added sugar (good thing, too–the chocolate makes it plenty sweet), I had to add more butter than I wanted. My initial goal was a mere 2 tablespoons of butter, but I ended up going with 4 tablespoons instead for consistency (the dough was too thick and immobile without it).

Even so, these scones don’t taste uber-buttery. They taste very, um, scone-like. They’re kind of dry (which I love in a scone), so if you don’t like that, just add another tablespoon or two of butter.

Did I mention these are fairly easy to make? And really pretty too! (I think they’d look nice sitting by a cup of coffee.)

In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add butter cubes, using your fingers to rub the butter into the dry mix until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. (If you have a pastry mixer, using it would probably speed up this step.)

In a separate bowl, combine milk and egg yolk; whisk until well-combined.

Make a well in the flour mixture, and pour the milk mixture into the center of the well. Use your fingers or a rubber spatula to fold the mixture until it starts to come together. (I found that making a blade with my hand to fold the mixture was much easier than using a kitchen tool.) Add the chocolate chips.

Gently knead the dough with your hands until just incorporated. Be careful to not overmix.

Roll the dough into a ball and place on the center of a floured cookie sheet (I used all-purpose flour for this). Use the heel of your hand to gently press the dough into an approximately 8-inch-diameter disk.

Using a floured pizza cutter, cut the pressed dough into 8 pieces, but do not separate them.

Brush egg whites onto the top of the dough. (I don’t suggest dumping it on top. I did, and I ended up with what looked like an egg white omelette on top of one of my scones.)

Use your fingers to crush the sliced almonds in the palm of your hand. Sprinkle the almond bits over the top of the dough.

Bake for 15 minutes. Once the scones have finished baking, let them cool for 5-10 minutes before moving them to a room-temperature plate or cooling rack.

02.15.2013

Spring Cleaning. It’s almost that time of year. And, well, my apartment complex has decided that spring cleaning should happen in February (we actually have annual cleanliness inspections–lolwut). So I’ve created a temporary board for ideas on getting my home to look sparkly and new. (Since I already have these pins mixed in with other random tips and tricks, I’ll probably delete this board at the beginning of summer.)

Vine. I’ve been thinking about possibly getting into the Vine app, but I’ve heard complaints that there is a major problem with porn in the app. Basically, the app allows users to upload 6-second videos to Vine, which can then be shared on Twitter and/or Facebook. Much like on Twitter or Instagram, you can explore trending topics and hashtags (which, I’m guessing, is where people are happening upon explicit material). Since Vine has received a lot of complaints about children finding pornographic clips, Vine has changed its age restriction to 17+. (I may still get try it because it seems I may need to know how to use it as a journalist.) Available in iTunes for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. FREE.

Tamagotchi. Nineties kids, rejoice. Tamagotchi is back (and probably needier than ever). Sure, you won’t get to carry your digital pet around on a cool key chain, but who cares? You get your favorite little guy back (and no pesky teacher can ban you from having it)! And this time, your mom won’t have to feed it every ten minutes. Just whip out your phone and feed your pet, then get back to work–just don’t let your boss know that’s not really an important email you were checking. Available in Google Play for Android. (iTunes version is in the works.) FREE.

Pitch Perfect. Thanks to Redbox’s Valentine’s Day code from Redbox, I rented Pitch Perfect for free last night. We’re going to watch it tonight as part of our Valentine date. (There were supposed to be two Valentine codes–I was going to rent three movies in all–but one didn’t work; that was disappointing because I wanted to rent the latest Bourne movie for Josh to watch today while I’m not home.)

The Watch. Another freebie from Redbox. Yesterday, Redbox posted a code on Facebook to celebrate reaching 5,000 fans. We’ll also be watching the Watch tonight. (We’re both stoked about this movie.)

Gumbo. On Fat Tuesday, my sister shared this Chicken and Sausage Gumbo recipe on my Facebook wall and told me to make it for her. I haven’t made it yet, but, although it’s no longer Mardi Gras, I still really want to try it. Obviously there will be photos if I make it.

Spiders. Have you seen this video of the bajillion spiders raining down in Brazil? Creeeeppppyyyy! According to the Washington Post article, this isn’t uncommon. Sometimes the wind picks up these spiders (they make big webs in the sky) and when it releases them, they look like they’re just falling from the sky. So… I think I won’t be going to Brazil, like, ever.

Dove. Have you seen this commercial from Dove? It was kind of surprising considering Dove’s Real Beauty campaign. This commercial (and the comments posted below it) presents a good discussion about a happiness tied to beauty products. I’d love to read your thoughts about this in the comments!

Post-Valentine’s Day. Today is one of my favorite holidays: the day after Valentine’s Day. It’s a magical day when all the Valentine crafts and candies go on sale (like, 50-plus percent). It’s beautiful, really. I hope I don’t get to the store too late to rack up on some adorable Valentine sprinkles. And lots of chocolate. Because it offers lots of health benefits, and even if that list isn’t super long, it’s good enough for me.